July 18, 1895
В Rostov-on-Don I was born Olga Spesivtseva — Russian ballerina. "Red Giselle".
When she was six, her father, a provincial theater actor, died of tuberculosis. Her mother moved the family to St. Petersburg, where she placed Olga in an orphanage for the children of underprivileged actors. She was later accepted into the Imperial Theater School.
In 1913, she joined the Mariinsky Theatre. She signed a contract and toured with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in America.
An apple was born into the world, it was cut in half, one half became Anna Pavlova, the other Olga Spesivtseva. But the second half is closer to the sun. (Italian choreographer and ballet master Enrico Cecchetti)
In 1917 she returned to Russia.
Many people left for Europe then, but I remained loyal to Russia. At my own request and with the company's consent, I took on the repertoire of all the great artists. I took on one ballet after another—Giselle, Esmeralda, The Pharaoh's Daughter, and others.
In 1919, at 24, she performed the role of Giselle. For the scene in which the main character goes mad, she visited psychiatric hospitals and observed the patients' behavior.
When she slowly rose from the grave, shyly approached the mistress of the Wilis and, coming to life, drew circles on one leg on the stage, with the other leg stretching out in a flying arabesque, it seemed like a dream, something in the power of expression lying beyond the limits of possibility. (composer Valerian Bogdanov-Berezovsky)
I shouldn't dance Giselle. I'm getting too caught up in her. (to my sister - the morning after the premiere)
Her career quickly took off: by 1920, Spesivtseva was already a prima ballerina at the Mariinsky Theatre. She had to work in harsh conditions: the theatre's heating had been cut off. But she continued to study with the choreographer Agrippina Vaganova.
There's no heating, we're rehearsing "Sleeping Beauty" in tights and sweaters. If you stop, you're steaming like a horse. Moral depression.
Working herself to the point of exhaustion, she contracted tuberculosis. In 1924, her husband, an employee of the Petrograd Soviet, Boris Kaplun, He helped her emigrate to Italy with her mother, ostensibly for medical treatment. Because of her connection with him, Spesivtseva was called a Russian spy and "Red Giselle" abroad (Kaplun, who remained in the Soviet Union, would be executed in 1937).
She lived in France, performed at the Paris Grand Opera and toured Europe.
With her new husband, a dancer and choreographer Boris Knyazev, opened a small studio in Paris specializing in ballet education.
In 1932, while she was on another tour in Australia and Argentina, her mother returned to Russia - this was a blow for the ballerina.
In 1939, with the help of an American businessman Leonard Brown She left for the United States. But he soon died of a heart attack, and the ballerina was left alone on a foreign continent, penniless and unable to speak the language. Her mental illness worsened, she lost her memory, and spent over 20 years in an American psychiatric hospital for the poor.
In 1952, she was discovered by an American writer and admirer of her work. Dale Edward Fern. He assigned a Russian-speaking doctor, provided treatment, and ten years later the ballerina’s memory returned.
In 1963, Fern moved Spesivtseva to the Tolstoy Foundation boarding house for lonely Russian emigrants, which was organized by his daughter. Leo Tolstoy Alexander 50 km from New York.
Dear Zinusha, yesterday I was transferred here from the clinic. The farm is large, built with donations. There's a charming church here, and I can pray and be close to God. Of course, it's hard to return to life after twenty years in the hospital. My hairstyle is outdated, my hair has turned white, I've forgotten how to put on makeup, blush, and powder. Oh, Zyuka, old age is no joy. (from a letter to my sister)
She lived in the boarding house for 28 years. Before her death, she dreamed of returning to her homeland.
Zinusha, every night before bed I sit at my desk and watch the sun set. At this time, I'm always in Russia. Memories slowly float by, and I drift off to sleep.
She died in 1991, at 96. She was buried in a Russian cemetery near New York.
In 2002, choreographer Boris Eifman dedicated the ballet "Red Giselle" to her on the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theatre.